Métal (1979)
by Paco Rabanne

Métal starts off with refreshingly crisp, green floral top notes, which gain a substantial lift from a very well-judged burst of waxy aldehydes. Notably absent is the sort of conspicuous citrus note that often leads off green floral scents. The opening accord persists as the heart of a relatively dry green aldehydic floral with subtly mossy chypre-style overtones.

Métal becomes progressively drier, woodier, and more angular as it develops, and I do not detect anything remotely “metallic” in its makeup - certainly none of the aggressively chemical, ozonic notes a name like “Métal” might lead one to expect. Instead, Métal moves on towards a more clearly defined chypre texture, albeit one of a decidedly woody bent. The woody component renders Métal’s drydown harder-edged than most chypres I’ve experienced.

Because of this woody edge, because it hovers relatively close to the skin, and because it remains dry in overall texture, I find Métal perfectly comfortable to wear as a man, just as I do Givenchy III and Azzaro Couture. If you like green-tinted floral chypres and find Heure Exquise and Acqua di Parma Profumo too sweet, and Patou’s 1000 just too large, I urge you to give the clearer, drier Métal a try. It’s a marvelously composed scent, and with only three previous Basenotes reviews, a terribly underappreciated one to boot.

This is a long time favorite of mine because nothing on Earth smells at all like it.
I am very surprised there were only two reviews of Metal. I thought it was a classic. It certainly deserves to be.

As for the name, I don't find it especially metallic (Calandre is much more metallic, in fact.).
I would describe it as oily... greasy, even, but not as an aspersion.
Imagine, if you will: herb-infused oil, marinating a slice of raw beef, saturating butcher its paper... being opened by perfectly manicured, perfumed, graceful hands.

Sound good yet? Well, it is.

Metal is very sexy, and beefy, and green.

I think it would smell delicious on a man.

Great fragrance and unisex if you get the eau de cologne version. The same is true for Calandre

What a wonderful fragrance! I just recently bought this fragrance for the first time a couple of weeks ago not knowing what it smelled like (I just liked the bottle, exactly like Calandre). What a rich unique fragrance. It reminds me a lot of Joy 1000 by Jean Patou, or No. 11 or 18 by Chanel. Very rich-smelling. I wear it because it smells like "wet wood."